*** Tobin Sprout

MOONFLOWER PLASTIC (WELCOME TO MY WIGWAM)

(Matador)

Hard to tell whether former Guided by Voices guy Tobin Sprout just got tired of being second in command to Robert Pollard or whether newborn twins had something to do with his departure from the best damn Merseybeat group ever to come out of Dayton, Ohio. To judge by his two solo discs, 1996's breezy Carnival Boy and the new Moonflower Plastic, it was the former. Both discs are marvels of spirit and songcraft, the work of a pop obsessive creating whole worlds in miniature.

Sprout is weaning himself off his four-track -- he recorded half of Moonflower at a pro studio. But there's still blessedly little polish applied to his compendium of daydreams. And there doesn't need to be: these songs sparkle and shine all by themselves. Sprout, who plays every instrument here except drums, puts his appealingly fragile voice to good use, streaming his melodies like silk flags across the charming popscapes of the fizzy "All Used Up," "Get Out of My Throat," and the aviation-themed "Hit Junky Dives." Although it remains to be seen whether he'll rejoin GBV (whose line-up tends to shift anyway), Sprout is, in fact, being true to his old band's moniker. He's trusting in a wise, liberating voice -- his own.

-- Jonathan Perry